The Broken House

'Exquisitely written... haunting... Few books, I think, capture so well the sense of a life broken for ever by trauma and guilt' Sunday Times 'An unsparing, honest and insightful memoir, that shows how private failure becomes national disaster' Hilary Mantel Twenty years after the end of the war, Horst Krüger attempted to make sense of his childhood. He had grown up in a quiet Berlin suburb. Here, people lived ordinary lives, believed in God, obeyed the law, and were gradually seduced by the promises of Nazism. He had been 'the typical child of innocuous Germans who were never Nazis, and without whom the Nazis would never have been able to do their work'. With tragic inevitability, this world of respectability, order and duty began to crumble. Written in accomplished prose of lingering beauty, The Broken House is a moving coming-of-age story that provides a searing portrait of life under the Nazis.

'Exquisitely written... haunting... Few books, I think, capture so well the sense of a life broken for ever by trauma and guilt' Sunday Times 'An unsparing, honest and insightful memoir, that shows how private failure becomes national disaster' Hilary Mantel Twenty years after the end of the war, Horst Krüger attempted to make sense of his childhood. He had grown up in a quiet Berlin suburb. Here, people lived ordinary lives, believed in God, obeyed the law, and were gradually seduced by the promises of Nazism. He had been 'the typical child of innocuous Germans who were never Nazis, and without whom the Nazis would never have been able to do their work'. With tragic inevitability, this world of respectability, order and duty began to crumble. Written in accomplished prose of lingering beauty, The Broken House is a moving coming-of-age story that provides a searing portrait of life under the Nazis.

Susan Perabo's short-story collection, Who I Was Supposed to Be, was named a Best Book of 1999 by the Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Boston Globe proclaimed the debut "a stunning introduction to a fresh new literary talent." Now Susan Perabo returns with The Broken Places, her eagerly anticipated novel about love and honor and how the aftermath of one terrifying night -- and one heroic act -- affects a close-knit family. Twelve-year-old Paul Tucker knows his family is something akin to royalty in small-town Casey, Pennsylvania. His father, Sonny, is a dedicated career fireman, in line for the position of chief, long held by Paul's late grandfather, a local legend whose heroics continue to occupy the hearts and minds of all who knew and worked with him. Paul's mother, Laura, is a math teacher at the high school; Paul is sometimes annoyed by her worries over him (and her apparent lack of worry over his father), but his life is generally untroubled, his future bright, his time measured by sport seasons. But on a windy October day, the collapse of an abandoned farmhouse forever alters the fates and perceptions of Paul, his family, and those closest to them. Sonny and the other Casey firemen attempt a dangerous rescue to reach a teenager buried under the rubble, and when Sonny himself is trapped by a secondary collapse, Paul, his mother, and the crowd of onlookers believe the worst. The wait is excruciating; it's baby Jessica all over again, but this time the "innocent victim" is sixteen-year-old Ian Finch, a swastika-tattooed hoodlum who may have brought the house down on himself while building bombs. Still, when Sonny emerges from the rubble hours later, the maimed teenager in his arms, the rescue becomes a minor miracle and a major public relations event, a validation of all things American and true. Sonny is immediately hailed as a national hero. And Paul's life is suddenly, and irrevocably, changed. Beyond the limelight, the parades, and the intrusion of the national media into a quiet and predictable life, the Tucker household balance is upset. And Ian Finch's curious and continued involvement in Sonny's life creates a new and troubling set of hurdles for Paul to overcome. Somehow, though his father has been saved, he continues to slip through Paul's fingers. Secrets, lies, and changing alliances threaten Paul's relationship with his father and his mother and his understanding of what holds a family -- and a town -- together. The Broken Places is a brilliant meditation on the psychology of heroism, the definition of family, and the true meaning of honor. With pitch-perfect dialogue, subtle but stunning insights, and a dazzling ability to uncork the quiet power of each character, Susan Perabo's The Broken Places uncovers and celebrates the unsettling truths of human nature.

Prepare to witness a personal in depth encounter of a woman who declared war on the vices of abuse which bound her. Discover how she escaped the broken walls and healed from all of her shattered pieces. At each page turn, readers will walk through the house where pain was built, lies were told, secrets were kept, distrust began, rage prevailed, and more. This book was designed to specifically empower and encourage those who have suffered in silence; made the painful choice to remain with their abuser(s), and for those who decided to leave in their minds, but were unable to execute in reality. Each page is full of useful concepts to escape from brokenness for those who may be actively or inadvertently intertwined in an abusive relationship.

Makeer is a man of high hopes. Intelligent and educated, he is a teacher in Sudan when he leaves his home and family for the bush, to fight for freedom and human dignity. At home, his sons must fight their own battles, as violence and death by malnutrition increase. Yet, nothing is quite as horrific as the way man treats man in the African battle for peace. The Broken Promise is based on the true terrors of the Sudanese Civil War. Fighting for the prosperity of his country, Makeer is blind-sided by the hypocrisy of his leaders while dodging bullets and watching his family die. He finds strength in moments of hope, mixed with intense despair, but is hope enough to keep him fighting while the world goes mad? Makeer might glimpse ultimate victorytouch for a moment high ideals and moralitybut he soon comes face to face with blackmail and murder in South Sudan, a new country he helped curve out of the Sudan. War is a thing of corruption and betrayal, which Makeer learns fi rst hand. However, he fights onward, proving that no amount of suffering will ever suppress the quest for human dignity.

How does a psychiatrist cope with trauma when a failed marriage results in severe depression and anxiety? It’s not often that the emotional experience of mental health professionals, who—like their patients—are fighting to find answers for their own healing and wholeness, can be explored. It can be hard to accept that sometimes even therapists, need therapy. This book explores what it’s like to have the tools to build a stable structure, but all that still develops is a broken house. After counseling college students and treating thousands of patients in psychiatry, the authors (a husband-and-wife team) found that their marital counseling ministry was more successful when empathetic transparency about their own mistakes and failures was given. Instead of using hammers, drills, screws, and nails, this couple had to learn to use techniques that tear down walls and expose the true condition of a damaged relationship. Embark on a journey with the “Chip and Joanna of marital counseling” as they reveal how a dilapidated house in foreclosure helped them start the renovation process on a marriage that was broken, and in disrepair. If you’re in a relationship that feels hopeless and are wondering if a seemingly bad investment has any real value, you’ll discover valuable lessons in this amazing story.

Broken House is a collection of short stories that range from the amusing and scary to the abstract and downright odd

Loren McWilliams was born disabled with a rare muscular disease and became hopelessly addicted to narcotics. After being bullied as a child, he was a late-stage alcoholic by adolescence. At 46, he was addicted to heroin and living in his car. None of his family would even talk to him. At his darkest moment of despair, he cried out and was saved.